Canon announces C300 HD movie camera

Canon has launched a new Cinema EOS system, utilizing existing lenses and sensor technology for an all-digital movie camera. Unlike previous camcorders such as the XL1-H1A the Canon EOS C300 will forgo DV tape, with Compact Flash being the primary recording method.

Although the 8MP sensor may not sound huge in relation to the average stills camera, but being that the surface area is akin to that of a Super 35mm negative the quality should be excellent.

Video is recorded in the Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, in the MPEG 2 format, at an impressive 50Mbps. Being that the majority of DSLRs manage a maximum of around 30Mbps this bodes well for those looking to switch to a more professional video camera.

A PL version of the camera, which takes the industry standard PL lenses, is also being made available for those with an existing collection of optics.

Users of the new system will see seven new lenses made available covering wide angle, telephoto zoom and fixed focal length. The seven new lenses, in both EF and PL mounts, are; 14.5-60mm, 14.5-60mm SP, 30-300mm, 30-300mm SP, 24mm, 50mm and 85mm with SP denoting a PL mount.

The US price is set at $20,000 for the EOS C300, which will be available in January next year, with the PL version being the same price but arriving two months later.

Canon also announced a DSLR, with similar specs to the C300, is currently in development. Few details were made available other than the 35mm-equivalent sensor size and 4k HD video format.